Prisoners

This is maybe the first american movie realized and written by a Canadian director (Denis Villeneuve), or at least the first I'm aware of. Considering the exploited theme in this movie, and how it is conveyed from the beginning to the end, this movie will certainly remain unforgettable for at least the next decade. What I mean by the «exploited theme» is the distress and the sorrow of a loving and devoted father that hardly try to bring his daughter back home, after promising to protect his family from anything. Around his stubbornness to make the first suspect talk and admit his indecent crime, the film phases in other elements of the puzzle, and ultimately heads toward a final conclusion by putting all the pieces together. This is exactly what I was hoping for; a story that maintains the tension and progressively reveals its unthinkable truth in which the elements add up and make sense over time. Honestly, I was on the edge of my seat all the movie long due to my profound curiosity of resolving the riddle as if I was a private detective myself! Needless to say that the intrigue of the movie, along with the exceptional and outstanding performances of Jackman and Gyllenhaal, could class it among the best movies of the year, and possibly earn a prestigious award. Moreover, I also give an excellent mark because it gets you involved, and evaluating the moral dilemma of the father's acts under such unexpected circumstances. Especially for the parents, it also makes you questioning what you would do upon this upsetting and overwhelming situation. Would you be able to merely let the police do its job without questioning, or would you let your fury comes over you, grab someone like this and torture him until he finally talks? Living the father's situation could make someone discover a dark side that he doesn't know of, and this is frightened. The realistic of the movie (I mean the lack of special effects) as well as the deepness into the character's emotions make it also more genuine. On the other hand, there are some elements for which I'd have preferred a little bit more deepness, for example an additional in-depth look at the criminal's character and its background/childhood. Honestly, I saw the movie in English without being totally bilingual (I'm a French guy), and maybe I didn't understand some important explanations, for example the snake concept. To conclude, this is a brilliant directing work from Denis Villeneuve, in which he offers us a non-classic end where we imagine by ourself the sort of the father's character. There are some similarities with «Les sept jours du Talion» from Podz and with «Changeling» from Clint Eastwood, but in general it remains an original and exceptional movie whose I highly recommend it.